House Resolution 112 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 112 BY ISENHART , WILLIAMS , KURTH , GASKILL , THEDE , BEARINGER , STECKMAN , WILBURN , McKEAN , BENNETT , KRESSIG , BROWN-POWERS , STAED , JACOBY , EHLERT , McCONKEY , COHOON , WINCKLER , ANDERSON , MASCHER , and DONAHUE A Resolution encouraging state and local governments 1 to increase the direct purchase of nutritious and 2 healthy food from local and regional producers, 3 including through Iowa’s regional food systems. 4 WHEREAS, Iowa’s Regional Food Systems Working Group, 5 comprised of 15 geographically based groups covering 6 91 Iowa counties, is a network established in 2003 to 7 support Iowans who are working together to build more 8 resilient food systems; and 9 WHEREAS, each regional group convenes multiple 10 stakeholders, including farm producers, food 11 processors, and other businesses, nonprofit 12 organizations, Iowa State University Extension 13 and Outreach, the Leopold Center for Sustainable 14 Agriculture, resource conservation and development 15 organizations, educational institutions, and other 16 state and local government entities to support local 17 and regional food system development; and 18 WHEREAS, in 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 128, the General 19 Assembly created the Local Food and Farm Program and 20 the Local Food and Farm Program Fund administered by 21 the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, to 22 support the diversification of Iowa agriculture and 23 Iowa’s economy through the development of integrated 24 -1- LSB 5108YH (4) 88 da/rn 1/ 5

H.R. 112 local food systems to promote the production, sale, and 1 consumption of food grown in Iowa; and 2 WHEREAS, beginning in 2011, the General Assembly has 3 annually appropriated moneys to support the Local Food 4 and Farm Program administered under Iowa Code chapter 5 267A; and 6 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published by 7 Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Iowa 8 farmers responding to a survey reported a more than 23 9 percent year-over-year increase in food sales through 10 direct-to-consumer transactions such as farmers’ 11 markets and community-supported agriculture, as well 12 as through wholesalers and large-volume institutional 13 buyers such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools, 14 and hospitals; and 15 WHEREAS, according to a 2014 report published 16 by Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 17 larger-scale buyers of local foods responding to a 18 survey reported increased purchases in local food 19 sales totaling more than $22 million in 2012-2013, 20 with 80 percent of those annual sales made to just 37 21 buyers, for an average of almost $250,000 in local food 22 purchases per buyer per year; and 23 WHEREAS, according to a 2016 report published by 24 the Union of Concerned Scientists, if all intermediate 25 and institutional buyers in Iowa purchased local food 26 at the same level as survey respondents, more than $3 27 billion in new economic activity would be generated for 28 the state’s economy, supporting 16,997 midsize farms, 29 and supporting 178,000 total jobs in Iowa, including 30 -2- LSB 5108YH (4) 88 da/rn 2/ 5

H.R. 112 49,000 full-time farm jobs; and 1 WHEREAS, targeted government procurement policies 2 have been successfully used to spur economic growth, 3 increase employment, develop rural communities, foster 4 the creation of value chain partnerships and promote 5 small businesses, including businesses operated by 6 families, young entrepreneurs, veterans, minorities, 7 persons with disabilities, ex-offenders, and others 8 underrepresented within the private sector; and 9 WHEREAS, Iowa has established a successful 10 high-profile precedent for using a procurement policy 11 to promote Iowa agriculture through a commitment at all 12 levels of government to use bio-based fuels; and 13 WHEREAS, food policy councils have been established 14 in several Iowa counties, including Dubuque, Johnson, 15 Linn, Cass, and Woodbury counties, which have come 16 together as the Iowa Food Policy Coalition, to identify 17 local and state policies, programs and resources, 18 as well as private sector initiatives, to develop 19 local and regional food systems and infrastructure 20 to fulfill the needs of both farm producers and food 21 consumers; and 22 WHEREAS, the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative 23 instituted by Governor Terry Branstad, and supported by 24 Governor Kim Reynolds, is dedicated to achieving the 25 goal of making Iowa the healthiest state in the nation, 26 and making “double up food bucks” for individuals 27 receiving nutrition assistance a staple of its menu of 28 programs; and 29 WHEREAS, government procurement preferences focused 30 -3- LSB 5108YH (4) 88 da/rn 3/ 5

H.R. 112 on small local food producers will have ancillary 1 benefits, such as increasing the availability of 2 fresher and healthier foods; improving nutrition 3 among populations vulnerable to diabetes, obesity, and 4 other chronic health conditions; reducing negative 5 impacts associated with soil erosion and water 6 pollution; as well as diminishing the use of energy 7 resources associated with damaging climate impacts; NOW 8 THEREFORE, 9 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 10 That the House of Representatives strongly encourages 11 universities under the direction of the State Board of 12 Regents to increase the direct purchase of nutritious 13 and healthy food from local and regional producers, 14 including through food hubs created with the support of 15 Iowa’s expanding Local Food and Farm Program; and 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 17 Representatives strongly encourages other state and 18 local government entities including the Department 19 of Administrative Services and agencies purchasing 20 through that department, the Department for the Blind, 21 community colleges, and the Department of Corrections 22 and associated institutions, as well as counties, 23 cities, and public schools to increase the direct 24 purchase of nutritious and healthy food from local and 25 regional producers, including through food hubs created 26 with the support of Iowa’s expanding Local Food and 27 Farm Program; and 28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 29 Representatives strongly encourages state and local 30 -4- LSB 5108YH (4) 88 da/rn 4/ 5

H.R. 112 entities to establish procurement goals for the 1 purchase of healthy and nutritious food grown by 2 local and regional producers and to become active 3 participants in a regional food system working 4 group; and 5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 6 Representatives urges all public entities engaged in 7 cooperative or coordinated food purchasing to establish 8 procurement specifications requiring vendors to source 9 a designated percentage of food from local and regional 10 producers in order to be recognized as a qualified 11 bidder; and 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 13 Resolution be sent to the Governor, the President 14 of the State Board of Regents, the Director of the 15 Department of Administrative Services, the Director 16 of the Department for the Blind, the Director of 17 the Department of Education, the Iowa Association 18 of Community College Trustees, the Director of the 19 Department of Corrections, the Iowa State Association 20 of Counties, and the Iowa League of Cities. 21 -5- LSB 5108YH (4) 88 da/rn 5/ 5